ECCLESIASTES 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

What is the conclusion of all things? We are born, we live under the sun for a time and then we die. In most cases we live a somewhat long life. In every life there are seasons. There can be good times as well as bad. When we are young it appears that time is standing still and we wish for tomorrow. As teenagers we long to be a sixteen or to reach the age that we can drive, once we get there we long to get a job or finish high school, to get married or be on our own, to have children and the list goes on and on. Then one day we look and time is gone, it seems so short, much different than it was when we were young.

What does it all mean? What is the answer to the quest of life and what we face along the way? The name of this is ( winter time is coming ). My wife and I enjoy watching birds and small animals in our yard as they go about their day. Each of those birds or animals are preparing for the winter that; even they know is in front of them. Mankind is actually a lot like normal animals, we also need to prepare for the winter time of our lives.

I often think about my dad when I have this mindset. His dad died when he was only nine years old ( 1931 . The night he died, he laid in the dead where he died at home until the next day when they could get someone to come pick him up. There was his wife and all his children there to deal with his death. We don’t see things like that today do we? Everything is so convenient for us that we never experience the things that are important for us to understand as we grow and mature. We seldom see death because its hidden in a hospital where only a few people see it. All the ugliness of life is placed behind a wall of some sort to protect us from the reality we must face at some point.

In my life, I’ve seen to small sisters die; two years apart. Both of this coffins laid in the Livingroom of our house until their day of burial. Now, all those things are handled a funeral home far out of site.

Children today are raised in a way where they only see the good things of what we call life. All the bad things, at least as much as possible are kept out of sight and they never gain any knowledge of them and are totally not prepared for the things that must unfold in their lives.

This is just a couple of things that I thought of in trying to unfold the topic ( winter time is coming ). There are any number of things that we could speak of in general life that could be a topic of discussion but, my passion is helping people prepare for the spiritual aspect of their lives. I can see how physical knowledge of certain aspects of every life prepares us for the spiritual aspects of life, even as we live our lives out. Things such as a pet kitten or dog dying. That brings about a discussion about the death of people we love. It’s a teachable moment as they say.

I heard a man preaching a message once ask the people he was preaching to if it was anyone there that could say they had no trouble in their lives, no problems? After he made that statement he then said; if you can raise your hand and say; you have no problems, then just hold on because it right in front of you. The Bible says ( Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble ).( Job 14:1 ) So, it doesn’t matter whether you believe the word of God or not, that doesn’t change. That is the focus of this article. I want to some how take theses types of events in out lives and show or teach the preparation of eternal life. It has to take place while we are growing and maturing in our normal lives.

We are spiritual beings whether we except that fact or not. There are certain aspects of our lives that are going to come to pass no matter what out belief or trust might be in. For instance, the day you were born; you charted a course in your life toward death. Can you change that fact? We, as individuals cannot even change the fact that we were born.

I’d like to point out something in the ( book of Job ) the we seldom ever hear about. This is in ( Job 1:8 ): God , speaking to Satan asked him this question ( hast thou considered my servant Job? This is just part of what he said but I just wanted you to see that these two men being, God the Father and Satan are discussing about the man Job. High above whatsoever Job was actually doing; the two spiritual powers of this world and the heavens are talking and planning things around this one man. Is there anything Job could do to make that not happen? Not a thing. This was all a part of God, preparing Job for the fact that he would stand before him one day. We might not think so but, we need that preparation, we need to bring that about in our children.

The Bible says this: ( Hebrews 9:27 ) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement: ( 28 ) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

It says there that we all have an appointment and that unto death. Although we might face things in our life just as Job faced, things we could call the (winter time ) in our life, death doesn’t have to be one of them. It says that Christ was offered once for the sins of many. It also says that unto them that look for him; are you, at this moment looking for him? If you are, it says he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

That second return is for those that are ( looking for him ). That means that through study and awareness that you are preparing for that day. Do you realize that even insects, animals prepare for wintertime? Yet, seemingly we, as people willingly step out into eternity without any preparation. Insects and animals work feverishly all summer long to prepare but, we waste our whole lives and never consider truly preparing for a day we know must come.

If you will study Job you will see that he had something in his life that God wanted him to see. It took all that he went through for him to be able to see that one sin. The blessing is that he did see it and corrected it. We always want to see the bad in things that happen in our lives when, it’s very possible that they are stumbling blocks in our lives that God placed there that our spiritual eyes might be opened.

No matter what you have faced in this life, how bad you might think its been. It will be nothing compared to the wintertime you will face if you face death without Christ in your life.

You must prepare to meet him ( ye must be both again ).